JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel’s finance minister on Sunday signed an order to eliminate customs duties on agricultural and industrial imports from South Korea, including on cars, as a new free trade agreement between the countries took effect.
Finance Minister Avigdor Lieberman made the change, which will result in the end of a 7% customs duty imposed on South Korean auto imports and a 12% customs duty on air conditioners, after the free trade agreement was ratified in March, according to Israel’s Tax Authority.
Israel, it said, will lose as much as 225 million shekels ($66 million) a year in tax revenue as a result of the customs reduction.
($1 = 3.3955 shekels)
(Reporting by Steven Scheer; Editing by Ari Rabinovitch)
